Special Prosecutor Seizes Computers, Devices from County Auditor’s Office
Decatur Sought to Exploit Lack of Oversight, Investigation Reveals
“The employee explained that there was no competitive bid process when SMCS Tech, LLC’s services were retained and no service contracts are on file.” – Investigator Rick Warner
A Geauga County judge has found probable cause a crime was committed in county Auditor Frank Gliha’s office related to former employee Stephen Decatur’s scheme to defraud the county of more than $260,000 — an amount expected to be substantially higher, according to multiple sources.
On Jan. 19, Chardon Municipal Court Judge Terri Stupica signed a search warrant authorizing Special Prosecutor Bryan Kostura to seize property from Gliha’s office, including computers, storage devices, emails, an organizational chart and documents related to formal or informal controls for the expenditure of public funds, including standing operating procedures and policies for the selection of vendors, vendor approval, service contracts or bids, and the process for receiving and approving purchase orders and invoices for payment.
The warrant, which was executed the same day, identifies the crime being investigated as dereliction of duty, a second-degree misdemeanor.
“Affiant has conducted analysis on computer media, electronic mail, cellular devices owned or used by Stephen T. Decatur,” Geauga County Prosecutor’s Office investigator Richard Warner stated in his affidavit in support of the search warrant. “From this analysis, Affiant has found communication between Stephen T. Decatur and Stephanie Elaine Steward (nee Decatur) to exploit the lack of oversight by Auditor Gliha for the purpose of engaging in an unlawful interest in a public contract.”
Decatur was arrested in October and charged with having an unlawful interest in a public contract, a fourth-degree felony. His case was bound over to Geauga County Common Pleas Court and assigned to retired Wayne County Common Pleas Court Judge Robert J. Brown.
Additional criminal charges are expected after Geauga County Prosecutor Jim Flaiz presents the case to the grand jury.
Kostura was appointed as special prosecutor to investigate the internal controls, practices and procedures of Gliha’s office while Flaiz’s office continues to prosecute the Decatur case.
Warner’s investigation also found communication between Decatur and parties at an out-of-state IT company where Decatur had once worked, “engaging in competitive bid rigging in contravention of Auditor Gliha’s duty to prevent such actions.”
Documents further showed Gliha authorized payment to the out-of-state company and SMCS Tech LLC, a Fairlawn-based company registered to Decatur’s daughter, Stephanie Stewart, that were “in excess of the competitive bidding requirements” outlined in Ohio law.
“The invoices provided showing payments to SMCS show that more than $50,000 was paid to SMCS, but that the payments were broken down into individual amounts less than $50,000,” Warner stated. “However, some of the payments were made separately to SMCS on the same day, resulting in the county paying SMCS more than $50,000 for service without going through the competitive bidding process.”
For example, on Jan. 3, 2017, Gliha authorized as “OK to Pay” two invoices from SMCS totaling $58,500. Two other invoices attached to the affidavit were OK’d to pay on Aug. 30, 2017, totaling $24,000.
According to Warner’s affidavit, authorities first became alerted to Decatur’s scheme in late September 2017, when an unnamed employee in Gliha’s office met with representatives of the prosecutor’s office.
“The employee provided an audit that showed the Geauga County Auditor’s Office . . . authorized several payments to SMCS Tech, LLC,” Warner stated. “The employee displayed in the audit that Geauga County had paid $259,700 from Nov. 10, 2016, to Sept. 28, 2017, to SMCS Tech.”
The payments were made for services to the county’s Information Technology Department, which according to state law, Gliha serves as the chief administrator/secretary. Under that same law, Gliha had the authority to name a deputy to administer the automated data processing center, and Gliha kept Decatur in that role after originally being hired by former county Auditor Tracy Jemison.
“The employee explained that there was no competitive bid process when SMCS Tech, LLC’s services were retained and no service contracts are on file,” Warner said.
Warner also said the employee was present for a conversation between Gliha and Decatur during which Gliha asked Decatur if Stewart was his daughter. Decatur said she was not.
Warner’s investigation uncovered two checks issued in July 2017 from SMCS: one check for $1,760 was made payable to Decatur and a second check for $7,000 was made payable to I/S Integration Specialists.
A search of publicly available information showed Decatur identified himself as the owner/consultant of I/S Integration Specialists. Stewart is listed as an employee of the company as well.
Gliha did not reply to an email seeking comment on the warrant and statements made in Warner’s affidavit as of publication of this story online.
Earlier this month, on Jan. 4, Gliha told the Geauga County Maple Leaf he had done nothing wrong and welcomed an independent review of his office’s policies and procedures.
He also noted his office has never missed a “point” with the Ohio State Auditor’s Office and regularly qualifies for the Auditor of State Award with Distinction.
“The only thing I did is I was the auditor at the time who OK’d the bills and I OK’d a lot them,” he said. “99.44 percent of those bills were legit. The small percentage point was not correct.”
Gliha explained he and many other county officials trusted Decatur, including Jemison, who was county auditor when Decatur was hired.
“Tracy hired him, so he’s got to be good. Tracy checked him out,” added Gliha. “He fooled me and he fooled everybody he came in contact with.”
